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Wrack
Wrack]] A Wrack is a twisted biological creation of the Drukhari Haemonculi, individuals of that species dissected and refashioned into living instruments of torture. They act as assistants and bodyguards to their fleshcrafting masters and are equipped with a range of cruel Dark Eldar weapons including razor-sharp blades, needles, poisons and even more exotic and disturbing instruments of pain and torment. Each Wrack is an abhorrent example of his or her master's surgical craftsmanship, an individual cut apart and refashioned into a walking instrument of torture. Masked and modified to better instil fear into those they encounter, they act as the hands of the Haemonculi in the world outside, and upon the field of battle they will defend their creators with their lives. Role Coven of Twelve]] Every ruler needs obedient servants, and Wracks are literally fashioned for the task. Known in some circles as "Haemacolytes," each Wrack's sole duty is to dutifully serve their master, whether at the slab or upon the battlefield. To this end they are physically modified to better perform their gory duties. Within the Wrack's surgically enhanced frame lies a shocking strength, and in combat they lay about themselves with a variety of sickled blades, corrosive whips, stun-rods and silvered hooks. Because Haemonculi tend towards megalomania or even delusions of godhood, they surround themselves with supplicants and minions to enact their orders. In fact, most Haemonculi prefer not to sully themselves with physical labour of any kind, and consider themselves somehow polluted if they have to exert themselves in any way. Instead, the dirty work of each Haemonculus is performed by his Wracks. Most Wracks hope to one day transcend their previous lives entirely -- a Wrack will endure almost any degradation in the hope that they may eventually ascend to the ranks of the Coven lords. A typical scene in the oubliettes and laboratories of the Haemonculi is a single figure looming over a partially dissected victim whilst hunched Wracks scrabble to enact every disturbing command. Wracks often have heavy metal gauntlets grafted in place of their hands that can inject or withdraw fluids from their subjects with the flex of a wire-taut tendon, or be coated with searing venom when accompanying their master on a raid into realspace. Spinal grafts and rampant bone growth is common in these disturbing composites, often forming baroque exterior racks and hooks from which samples and serums can be suspended so they are readily at hand when their Haemonculus needs them. They will also be further modified to ensure that they can defend their creator in battle, or pillage a community in order to gather fresh specimens for their master's pleasure. The nails of their fingers and toes are severed and replaced by razor-sharp talons that skitter and scratch on the cold stone floors of their underground needle-lairs, and their faces are covered by inscrutable metal masks, for individual identity has no place in the Wrack's existence. Wracks wear only the most rudimentary of clothing in their day-to-day lives, going about their business in stained butcher's aprons and tabards, twilight glinting from a bewildering variety of Haemonculi torturer's tools hung from their belts. Perhaps the most sickening aspect of the Wrack's strange plight is not their hideous appearance or simmering bloodlust, but the fact that they have chosen this fate for themselves. It is a peculiar trait of the Drukhari psyche that after a few Terran centuries of life they often request to be modified into a form other than that of their birthright, for such voluntary surgery staves off ennui and gives up a whole new suite of experiences and debaucheries to savour. For this reason a Drukhari who has nothing to lose will give themselves to the Haemonculi, emerging from their foul metamorphosis as something far more frightening than ever before. Acothysts Among Wracks there is a position or rank referred to as "Acothyst." This seems to be a position of authority amongst the Wracks, perhaps equivalent to an officer or other small unit command position. Acothysts are sometimes rewarded with unique Haemonculi weapons such as the Hexrifle, Stinger Pistol or other particularly deadly and painful Drukhari weapons. Unit Composition *'4 Wracks' *'1 Acothyst' Wargear Wracks wielding a variety of weapons guaranteed to ifnlict maximum pain upon the foe.]] *'Haemonculus Tools' - The tools of the Haemonuclus include among their number an unusual number of deadly and wicked-looking blades, all capable of eliciting whole new realms of pain in their victims. *'Liquifier Gun (1 for every 5 Wracks)' - A Liquifier Gun is a Drukhari weapon which sprays a huge amount of potent acid that melts through flesh and armour alike. Minions of feared Haemonculi usually have Liquifier Guns implanted within their bodies from which they can fire their own acid-like blood onto their foes. *'Ossefactor (1 for every 5 Wracks)' - An Ossefactor is a Drukhari biomedical technology used by the Haemonculi to accelerate and alter their fleshcrafting clients' bone growth. The devices have also been pressed into military service and are wielded by Haemonculi and their Wracks with deadly results. The Ossefactor employs weaponised osteocytic impulsion-waves, normally used by the Haemonculi to craft bone structures and fashion spinal sumps. It projects a focussed overdose of this energy at its victim, triggering uncontrolled osteocytic multiplication. Bones twist and lengthen violently, shooting out dozens of spurs like the branches of some hideous tree. The luckless victim is rent apart by their own warped skeleton, even as their horrified squad mates find themselves impaled on the calcific spears that burst from their body. *'Hexrifle (Acothyst only)' - A Hexrifle is a Drukhari ranged weapon used primarily by Haemonculi and their Wrack servants which are outfitted with crystal cylinders that contain a tiny amount of the engineered Glass Plague virus. The virus spreads incredibly fast on contact with flesh, transmuting the victim into a glass statue. *'Stinger Pistol (Acothyst only)' - The Stinger Pistol is a Drukhari anti-personnel weapon used primarily by the Haemonculi and their Wrack servants. A Stinger Pistol is a lightweight sidearm characterised by a long, syringe-like barrel and a venom reservoir that holds searingly potent toxins. When fired it ejects a long sliver of hollow glass that can pierce a foe's skin and introduce the toxins straight into his bloodstream, invariably with horrific results. *'Agoniser (Acothyst only)' - An Agoniser is an extremely sophisticated Drukhari weapon that drives a victim's sensorium haywire, causing excruciatingly severe pain as nerves burn out from bioelectrical overload. Though Agonisers come in a variety of forms, the most common are toxin-soaked whips or barbed flails. The larger the creature, the greater the potential for pain-infliction. Agonisers have the ability to harm vehicles as well, potentially disabling the crew or disrupting the vehicle's electronic systems. *'Electrocorrosive Whip (Acothyst Only)' - Electrocorrosive Whips are Drukhari weapons similar to Agonisers, though not as lethal. These venom-soaked whips steal the fighting will of enemies by causing extreme pain. *'Flesh Gauntlet (Acothyst only)' - The Flesh Gauntlet is a truly nightmarish weapon that is a claw-like glove outfitted with various protruding syringes and vials. Even a small scratch of the glove's claws on an enemy's flesh will inject the victim with the most violent electro-steroids, which will eventually cause the victim's skeleton to suffer accelerated growth and rip out of his or her skin. In the end there remains only an undefined pile of heaving, fleshy matter. *'Mindphase Gauntlet (Acothyst only)' - Anyone touched by these gauntlets will find their strength and will sapped by neural controller circuitry embedded within them. Even monstrous Tyranid Carnifexes can be stopped by the psychic power contained within these gauntlets, though against the most powerful alien and daemonic foes they are not as reliable as when used against humanoid minds more similar to those of the Drukhari. *'Scissorhand (Acothyst only)' - A Scissorhand is an incredibly dangerous close combat weapon used by Drukhari Haemonculi. It is a glove with long monomolecular blades attached to the fingertips like claws. The glove has a series of vein-like tubes that run along each finger, slowly and constantly reapplying an incredibly virulent poison to the blades. Victims who receive even the slightest of scratches from these blades become wracked with pain so incredible that it frequently causes the target to pass out or even die. *'Venom Blade (Acothyst only)' - The Venom Blade is a favoured melee weapon of the ancient Drukhari nobility and was considered their hallmark. There are vast numbers of all kinds of poisoned weapons like vambrace blades, knives, daggers, swords, scimitars, whips and more, some of incredibly exotic design unimagined by humans. These venom weapons each are host to thousands of micropores that constantly exude a distilled elixir of hypertoxins -- one of the most toxic substances in the galaxy -- that make the blade extremely lethal to any foe with just the slightest scratch. Sources *''Codex: Drukhari'' (8th Edition), pp. 70, 87, 94, 108-111 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Wracks," "Armoury of the Dark City - Melee Weapons," "Armoury of the Dark City - Ranged Weapons" *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (5th Edition). pp. 38, 56-58, 61 Category:W Category:Dark Eldar